Lice in my dreads

Oh no! Lice in your dreads! This is already bothersome when you have ‘normal’ hair, but when you have dreadlocks it’s even more bothersome! What to do now?

I have lice but i don’t have dreads

If you’re not a dreadhead, there’s a few things you can do to get the lice out of your hair:- comb your hair with a plastic lice comb or a plastic fine tooth comb.- did you just discover lice or nits and you want to remove them, then use a metal nit comb.- treat your hair with one of the products (available at the pharmacy) for head lice: - lotion, shampoo, gel, mousse, spray

If combing with a metal nit comb doesn’t give you the result you want or if you can’t comb your hair, you can also treat your hair with one of the previously stated head lice treatments.

After you discovered and treated the lice it’s important to do a regular check up!

I have lice and wear dreads

If you’re a dreadhead then preventive treatment is an option. If you work in an environment where lice are a frequent plague (like a nursery, schools or a sports club), preventive treatment is a must. A good product is for example Prioderm preventive. This is a mild spray based on a natural base without perfume or color. The advantage of this treatment is that lice can not settle on your scalp. Available at the pharmacy.

Lice and synthetic dreads

When you spot lice on your head and you’re wearing synthetic dreads then the easiest way to get rid of them is: uninstalling them and doing a lice treatment. You can do the treatment previously described under ‘I have lice but i don’t have dreads’.

You can wash the synthetic dreads you removed and store them in a sealed (plastic) bag. If there are nits that survived when you washed the dreads then they will suffocate in the sealed plastic bag. You can reuse your dreads afterwards. Do a double check when you do want to wear them and maybe wash them again before reinstalling.

Do you have dreads that you would rather not uninstall? Then you can do the treatment previously described under ‘I have lice and wear dreads’. Or use our RAW ROOTs Creeps Tincture.

Lice in real dreads

When the preventive method didn’t help and you still got lice, or when you didn’t think about using a preventive method and you discover that you have lice, you can use RAW ROOTs Creeps Tincture.
Creeps Tincture is effective and easy to use as you do not have to comb the hair. The tincture DOES NOT need to be rinsed out and after two treatments, you are sure that lice and eggs are dead.

How to use:Apply the tincture on the scalp and 10 cm out on hair and dreadlocks. Wrap the hair in a plastic bag. Leave for one hour. Unwrap and let the tincture dry into the hair. Repeat after 5 days. If necessary, repeat for prevention. No need to rinse or comb.

Another option is buying a lice treatment at a pharmacy. A treatment that kills lice. Please ask the pharmacy which product is best for you! It’s not possible to comb the nits out, so you might have to repeat this treatment to prevent new lice from settling on your scalp, or you have to remove the nits out of your dreads with tweezers.

It will take a bit of patience and perseverance, but don’t give up! You certainly don’t have to cut off your dreads because of lice however it does take time and energy to remove them.